Guardians of Beach City
by Bloodred739
Summary: When the city's teens had all agreed to train with Steven and the Crystal Gems, Greg and Vidalia both could not help but regret not training with the gems while they were in there youth. But when fate leads Greg to a sword that is almost twice size, and Vidalia to a sword that makes her give into her inner demons, the two realize that they might get that second chance after all.
1. chapter one: The Necklace

"Why don't they think I can help?"

Greg was walking along the beach with his metal detector. The Crystal gems, except Garnet, who apparently had something important to take care of, had left on another mission, and once again, they refused to let Greg come along.

Greg knew of the dangers that the gems faced when the went on those missions, and the dangers that his son was introduced to when he came with them.

As much as Greg trusted the gems, he never liked leaving it to someone else to keep Steven safe. Before Rose left them, Greg made a promise to her that he would always keep Steven safe, no matter the cost. But he was no gem. He couldn't summon weapons, or see into the future, but Greg just knew that he could help if he was just given the chance. And he wasn't the only one.

About two years ago, Pearl had been so impressed with how far Steven and Connie had come, that she decided to take her training classes to a whole new level. She and Garnet had agreed to train any of Steven's friends who felt up to the challenge.

So for the past two years, Steven and Connie, along with Kiki, Jenny, Buck, Sour Cream, Sadie, Lars, and even Jamie would all come to the temple to train with the gems. Kiki, Jenny, and Sadie would train with Pearl. And Buck, Sour Cream, Lars, and Jamie would train with Garnet.

Getting these seven to agree to the training was no cakewalk for Steven and Connie, even with Lars' help. Lars told them that he had seen what Homeworld was capable of, and experienced it first hand. And if what the gems had told him was true, nothing that humans could create would be enough to stand up against Homeworld.

The off-colors were a great team, but they were not fighters. So as afraid as they all were, the teens knew if they didn't fight, it could mean the end of them, and everyone that they cared about.

And so with the help of Steven and the gems, they trained.

And not only had Lars followed through with his training, he was now the most physically capable fighter in their group. Ever since his revival, he'd been much stronger and faster.

The gems couldn't have picked a better time to train new fighters. As time went by, more and more corrupted gems would find there way into Beach City and terrorize it's citizens.

The teens, who had more than knew how to defend themselves at this point, would deal with these mutants themselves so that the Crystal Gems could focus on their missions.

These teens knew that they were just humans. But much like Connie and Lars, they knew that they could draw their weapons and fight.

Something that Greg would always envy.

Greg had once asked Garnet and Pearl to train him. They both refused, saying that he lacked the strength to use any weapon they had to offer him.

Greg sighed as he continued to move his metal detector around the beach. This had become a hobby of his for when he wasn't working at the car wash or writing songs. He was amazed at the number of neat things that people would just throw away. He may have been rich, but he still appreciated all of the small things in life.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Greg looked down. His metal detector had found something. Greg bent down and began shoveling the sand away with his hands. What would it be this time? An old coin? A ring? Another metal detector perhaps?

After about five minutes of digging, he stopped for a moment and stepped back. He still couldn't see it, but whatever this thing was, it was buried deep in the sand, and most likely heavy. This would take hours if Greg tried to dig it up with his hands. he'd need an actual shovel.

Greg sighed. His shovel was broken. Greg looked around. He didn't want to go anywhere far for fear that somebody else might stumble upon his discovery. What was he to do?

Greg looked to the temple once more. It wasn't too far. Maybe they had a shovel. He could only hope that Steven and the gems were home now. So as fast as Greg's middle aged body would allow, he ran to the temple. He didn't know what it was that he was attempting to dig up, but he had a good feeling about this.

When Greg had made it to the temple's porch, he noticed that only the living room light was on. The gems must not have been home yet. Greg was about to walk back down the stairs when suddenly, he heard voices inside of the temple. Was Garnet home? And did she have someone with her?

"I understand what I said before, but-"

"This is what you brought me here for? NOW you like me!?"

"I don't know yet. But I beli-"

"Garnet, you said yourself that love at first sight didn't exist. That love took time."

"Yes, exactly. Love takes time. Which me and you have both had. Almost two years now. I will admit, I'm not sure if it's love yet, but I am willing to try."

"I'm sorry Garnet, but the feelings I had for you are in the- Hey! What are you doing!?"

That's Jamie. Greg thought. He knew Jamie as the director for Beach City's theater, and as one of Stevens friends. But what was he doing here? Extra training?

Greg peeked through the window. Garnet was holding Jamie by the arms. And by the looks of it, she was refusing to let Jamie go.

"You don't understand." said Garnet as her hands pressed harder into Jamie's arms. "I had good reason to refuse you before, but that was then and this is now. Can we not just put the past aside?"

"Why now? What's changed?" asked Jamie as he continued to try to free himself from Garnet's hold. "You know what? I don't care! Just please let go of me!"

What's going on right now? Greg thought as he continued to spy.

"But Jamie I c-"

"I said no!" Jamie yelled. He wouldn't admit that he was a little embarrassed. Even though he had trained with Garnet for so long, she was still able to manhandle him like a little girl. "My feelings for you are gone, Garnet!"

Neither Jamie or Greg could see it, but underneath her visor, Garnet was frowning.

After trying for so long, Garnet had finally been able to take full control of her form. Her feelings no longer decided by her two counterparts, Ruby and Sapphire. Much like Sugilite had done with Garnet and Amethyst had fused to destroy the communication hub so long ago.

This had begun when Peridot and Jasper had come to Earth for the first time, and Jasper had used the destabilizer on Garnet. When that happened, Jasper had not only split up Ruby and Sapphire, but she had broken the control that Garnet had on the two. Even though this time it had taken a few years, Garnet had the control back.

Now once again, she was no longer Ruby, or Sapphire. She was Garnet.

But now that Garnet's choices were no longer decided by Ruby and Sapphire, she no longer felt the completeness she felt before. She could still feel Ruby and Sapphire, but she couldn't feel their love anymore. She didn't feel complete anymore. She would try unfusing, and then fusing back, but something was stopping her. Whenever she tried, it only caused her pain.

Truth be told, she would not be having these feelings if her two counterparts were still in control, but they weren't. She had to find love in someone else.

And with Jamie being one of the only people she knew to ever take romantic interest in her..

She would NOT take no for an answer.

Garnet stepped closer to Jamie and tripped him. Causing him to fall on the couch. Then faster than Jamie could react, Garnet jumped onto his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Then maybe I can get you to like me again, hmm?" Garnet said seductively. Once again, before Jamie could get a word out, Garnet acted first, and ripped his shirt off.

What is happening right now? Jamie thought. Garnet still had his arms pressed down, and her weight was keeping him from moving his legs.

"G-Garnet?" Jamie stuttered. In all of his training done with her, he'd never once seen Garnet like this.

"I will not be denied, Jamie." Garnet said in a low voice, indicating that she was becoming inpatient. She snapped her fingers. In a flash of light, the top of her jumpsuit was replaced with nothing but a black bra. Jamie's eyes widened, Garnet was serious about this.

Jamie did not move. He did not speak. This had all happened too fast for his brain to fully process the situation.

Garnet's smile widened even more. She had him now, and they both knew it.

Garnet cupped Jamie's left cheek and leaned in...

"OH. MY. GOD!"

Garnet froze. She and Jamie both looked to the temple's warp pad and saw a giggling Amethyst and Jasper, a stunned Pearl, a confused looking Peridot, and a blushing Steven who was covering his face with his arm.

Garnet panicked internally. She hadn't expected the five back for at least another hour. When Garnet finally stepped off of Jamie, he grabbed what remained of his shirt, and ran through the door. He stopped when he saw Greg by the window.

He turned to Greg with wide eyes. "How much of that did you-"

"All of it." Greg interrupted. He did not have the mental strength to attempt to lie right now. This had all shocked him too.

Jamie's face turned even redder before he ran off. Thank goodness that the rest of the gems had finally shown up. Greg would've had to leave if the little scene he just witnessed had went any further.

Greg walked into the temple, trying his best to look like he HADN'T just witnessed Garnet try to force herself onto Jamie. "Uh, hey guys."

The room remained silent. Garnet had reformed her jumpsuit, but was still resisting the urge to cover herself. She had never felt so embarrassed in front of her team. Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Jasper, and Steven had all just seen her half naked. What was she thinking? Why hadn't she taken Jamie to her room for this?

"So uh, you guys wouldn't happen to have a shovel, would you?

"Steven." Pearl said, who's voice was strangely calm. "Go get the shovel in the closet, and go with Greg. Me and Garnet need to talk."

Steven did not argue. This was something he didn't want to be a part of. He went to the closet, grabbed the shovel for his father, and the two exited the temple. On the way down the stairs, Steven could already hear Garnet and Pearl screaming at each other.

On the way back to the digging spot, Greg began to tell Steven about what he had discovered, and how he wanted to dig it up to find out what it was.

"What do you think it is?" Steven asked.

"I'm not sure, really." said Greg. "But that's what we're gonna find out. Oh we're here!"

Fortunately, it didn't look like anyone else had been here. So Greg stuck the shovel into the sand and began to pick up where he had left off. Along with Steven, who was helping by digging up the sand with his hands. After about fifteen minutes of digging, Greg put down the shovel and began digging with his hands as well. After brushing off the remaining sand, Greg and Steven both took a few steps back to fully take in what they had discovered.

"Wooow!" Steven said with stars in his eyes. This was NOT what Greg was expecting, but he was amazed nonetheless.

What sat in the sand before him and his son was a sword. A very, very large sword.

Greg kneeled down to further examine it. He was right about this sword being large. In fact, this sword was almost seven feet long, and looked to be maybe four times thicker than any sword he'd ever seen before. The hilt was black, and the blade was a shining silver. Then he noticed that there was something tied to the sword's handle. It was a necklace with some sort of pendant on it.

"Do you think this sword belongs to the gems?" Greg asked as he untied the necklace from the swords handle to get a better look at it. The chain was black, and the pendant was a blue orb with wings. The left wing resembled that of a bats, and the right an angels.

"I don't think so, dad." said Steven. Amongst the gems, Pearl was the only one who owned swords. As far as he knew, Pearl didn't possess any swords that looked like this. But then Steven had an idea. "Maybe YOU could use this sword!"

Greg's eyes widened. He knew that Steven had always been up for the idea of him training with Steven and his friends, but since both Garnet and Pearl wouldn't allow it, Greg was never given a weapon of his own like Steven's friends. If this sword didn't belong to the gems, he could claim it he supposed. But that wouldn't change the fact he didn't know how to use a sword. Besides, as big as this weapon was, it was too heavy for him to use. With this previous memory fresh in his mind, Greg saddened.

Steven noticed his father's sadness, and began to feel bad. He knew that his dad wanted to help, but the gems wouldn't give him the chance.

Steven shook his head. No. He and his father had found something amazing, and Steven wasn't going to let his father feel down on himself right now.

"Here, dad." Steven said as he grabbed the necklace from Greg. "Let's see how this fits on you."

Greg sad look was replaced with a smile. That was his Steven. Always there to comfort those he cared about. Greg knelt down to Steven's height. Steven smiled placed the necklace around his father's neck.

"There you go." Steven said. "You look awesome!"

But then the half gem noticed that something was wrong. His father wasn't moving, or speaking, as if he was in some sort of trance. "Dad, are you OK?"

Without saying a word, Greg pushed Steven away, began walking toward the giant sword.

"Dad?" Steven said. He was getting worried now. Why wasn't his father saying anything? But then he noticed that the necklace was glowing.

"Steven!"

Steven turned around and saw a glum looking Pearl. She and the others must have finished there confrontation with Garnet. But where was she?

"It's getting dark. It's time for you to-" she paused when she saw Greg gripping the swords handle. "Steven, what is Greg doing? Where did he find that sword?"

But before Steven could answer, a white and purple aura began to glow around Greg. Steven looked in awe. His father was lifting the sword.

As Greg lifted the blade higher and higher, the aura began to envelop him, shining so brightly that Pearl and Steven could barely see him. Strong winds were picking up all around. Steven summoned his shield to try to block the sand that was being blown there way. "Pearl! What's happening?" Steven yelled.

Pearl wasn't sure what was happening to Greg either. But whatever it was, it was being caused either by that necklace, or the sword.

The auras were spinning around Greg faster and faster. His body and the sword were floating off the ground.

"Steven!" Pearl yelled. "Use your bubble!"

Steven nodded. He had had his fair share of training as well. In his last two years of training, he had become much better with not only hand to hand combat, but his gem powers as well.

Steven extended his right hand and attempted to form a bubble around his father, but before the bubble could reach his father, Greg turned his head to him and Pearl.

Steven gasped. He still couldn't see his father body, but he could see his eyes. They were glowing.

Before Steven could fully form the bubble around his father, the auras around Greg sent out another wave of light, completely shattering the bubble.

When the light finally began to fade. Greg fell facedown into the sand, completely unconscious.

Steven and Pearl both ran to Greg's aid. When the two had gotten to him, Steven dropped to his knees and began shaking his father's shoulder.

"Dad! Dad, wake up! Please!" Steven cried.

Pearl placed her hand on Greg's back, and let out a sigh of relief when she felt him breathing.

Steven was so consumed with worry that he hadn't noticed that his father was a bit taller than he was before. Pearl looked closer, Greg's shirt and pants were now hanging loosely on his body, as if they'd gotten bigger. Pearl was confused. What had this necklace done to him?

When Pearl and Steven finally flipped Greg onto his back, they both gasped.

Greg was... Younger.

Pearl was stunned. Greg's beard was gone, and the hair on his head had fully returned. His once overweight body was now thin and muscular. Greg's clothes had not gotten bigger, he had gotten skinnier.

Pearl continued to study Greg's body. Not only was Greg younger, his height physical build had went up immensely. He was almost as tall as Garnet.

Steven was speechless. His father looked so much like him, that it was almost scary. It was like he was looking into a mirror. Steven was torn away from his thoughts by the sound of Pearl's groaning.

Pearl was trying to pry the sword from Greg's right hand. But even in his unconscious state, Greg had an iron grip on the blade.

Finally giving up, Pearl asked Steven how he and Greg found the blade and necklace. When Steven finished explaining everything to her, Pearl looked at the necklace. "let's get this necklace off of him."

Pearl slowly reached for the necklace. When one of her fingers touched the pendant, the left wing glowed an angry red.

"Aaaugh!" Pearl yelled in pain as she pulled her hand away. The necklace had burned her finger.

"Pearl! Are you alright?" Steven asked.  
Pearl looked at the red mark on her hand. It was just a small burn, Nothing to whine about. She looked at the necklace again. She couldn't remove it herself.

Pearl sighed. But Garnet might be able to. She thought.

Pearl grabbed Greg's right arm. The sword was going to make this difficult. "Grab his other arm, Steven. We need to get Greg to the temple."

Steven nodded and grabbed Greg's other arm. As fast as they could, the two began to drag Greg back to the temple. Pearl did not want to be around Garnet right now, but they had no other choice.

Garnet's room

Garnet paced around her room. So many emotions running through her head. sadness, anger, frustration, humiliation, too many to count.

She had been too afraid to use her future vision to see how things could've happened, but now she regretted not doing so.

Garnet stepped in front of her mirror. The fusion looked at herself in disgust. Her purple skin, her square shaped afro, her manlike strength and muscle, her third eye, and the fact that she was a fusion.

This was another one of the cons to being her own person. When it was Ruby and Sapphire in control, Garnet didn't care about her appearance. She didn't need to. She was already complete.

Enraged once again, Garnet summoned her gauntlet and smashed the mirror, not wanting to look at herself anymore. She herself was not ashamed of her eye, but humans were always of a different opinion.

Garnet looked at her gems. It was better when Ruby and Sapphire had control. If they did, none of this would have happened. If only she could go back to being those two. She hated this. She hated needing another person romantically.

She'd have to apologize to Jamie tomorrow. That is, if he even decided to show up for training. That's when a thought occurred, what if she had just permanently lost one of her students because of this mistake?

Knock! knock! "Garnet! Garnet, open the door!"

Garnet looked to the door and frowned. After there heated argument, she did not want to be around Pearl right now.

"Garnet, open up! This is important!"

Finally giving in, Garnet put her shades back on, walked to door. When she opened it, her and Pearl locked eyes. It truly was just like that fusion incident that had happened so long ago. Only this time, Pearl was angry at Garnet.

Pearl looked passed Garnet and into her room. She frowned when she saw the king sized bed. "When did you get a bed?" Pearl asked.

Garnet stepped in front her, blocking her view.

Pearl folded her arms. "Or was that going to be for Jamie too?"

Garnet's left gem began to burn.

"So you've been planning this for a while, hm?"

"Don't." Garnet said in a low voice. Indicating that she was becoming angry. "What happened does not concern you."

"Jamie is one of our students!" Pearl yelled. "It's unprofessional, and its-"

"Pearl!" Peridot shouted from the living room. "I believe we have more pressing matters than Garnet's personal affairs."

Garnet and Pearl stopped there argument and walked into the living room where Steven, Amethyst, Jasper, and Peridot were all observing Greg.

"Greg actually lifted this giant hunk of metal?" asked Amethyst as she tried to take the sword from Greg's hand. Amethyst certainly didn't remember Greg being this strong when he was this age before. Nor this physically fit.

When Greg's fingers finally loosened, the sword fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Amethyst grabbed the sword's hilt and attempted to lift the blade, but couldn't even make it budge. Amethyst changed into her wrestling form and tried again. Even with her being almost twice Greg's size now, she still couldn't make the sword move an inch.

"Move outta the way, runt." Jasper said as she pushed Amethyst over. Jasper wrapped her hand around the sword and attempted to lift it up, but just like Amethyst, she couldn't even make it budge. "Rrrrrr! What kind of sword is this!?"

"Maybe only dad can use it." Steven said to Peridot. "Like Thor's hammer from the Avengers."

"You said that this happened when he put on this trinket, Correct?" Peridot said. When she attempted to reach for the necklace, Steven grabbed her hand. "Don't." He said. "Pearl tried already. It'll burn you if you touch it."

"I see." Peridot said. "So this trinket somehow possesses a type of self-defense mechanism, preventing others from removing it from its user by emitting heat."

"Nerrrrrd!" Amethyst yelled both she and Jasper were trying to lift the sword together.

Peridot rolled her eyes. She'd been on this planet for quite some time, so she was used to those two and their teasing.

Garnet was amazed when she saw Greg. When Steven and Pearl had finished explaining how this had happened, Garnet summoned her gauntlet.

"Let's get that necklace off of him." Garnet said. "All of you stand aside."

Garnet walked to Greg's unconscious body, and slowly wrapped her gauntlet around the chain. When the pendants left wing began glowing red, Garnet was not fazed.

When she prepared to yank off the necklace, the pendants right wing began to glow a sky blue. Faster than Garnet could blink, the pendant sent out a shockwave of blue energy, sending her crashing into a wall on the other side of the room.

"Garnet!" Steven yelled as he, Amethyst, and Peridot all ran to her aid.

Garnet was dazed. So removing the necklace was out of the question. But it was too risky to leave Greg alone with it. He could harm himself or others.

When Steven and Amethyst pulled her out of the wall, Garnet looked at Pearl. She had made absolutely no attempt to help her. This was not uncommon with Jasper, but Pearl, never.

Garnet's right gem began to feel cold.

Garnet stood up, brushed herself off, and headed for the temple door. If she had to stay in this room with Pearl any longer, there's no telling what she would do.

"Steven, we will find a way to fix Greg." She said. "Until then, he stays with us."

Steven squealed with joy. His father would get to live with him again.  
Pearl normally would have tried to talk Garnet out of her decision, but she had had enough for one day.

"Its past your bedtime, Steven." Pearl said as she walked to the temple door as well. "You get ready for bed."

Steven pouted. He was sixteen. In the past two years, he had grown taller than Amethyst. He had stopped wearing his pink shirts, and instead wore pink hoodies witch still sported his signature star. His hair fell down to his shoulders, and resembled his mothers.

He was NOT a baby, but he knew Pearl would always see him as one.

"OK, Pearl." Steven said as he walked to the bathroom to prepare his shower.

Amethyst grabbed Jasper's much bigger hand, walked to the temple door, deciding that she was ready to turn in too. "C'mon, sis. I saved some leftover tacos for us!"

Jasper smiled lightly and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She said.

"I'd better get back to the barn." Said Peridot. "Pearl, try to fix whatever is going on between you and Garnet. I'd hate for this fighting to impede our plans to finish the designs on our latest weapon."

Pearl said nothing.

Peridot shrugged her shoulders, and left. She hoped this would be over and done with by tomorrow.

With Pearl now alone in the room, she could freely think to herself.

Why is this happening again? She thought.

The next day

What...where am I?

Greg rubbed his eyes with his left hand, he knew that this wasn't his van. His back would have been in pain. Actually, his back felt better than it had in years.

Greg took in his surroundings. He was in the temple. He rubbed his chin as he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered him and Steven digging up that sword, Steven putting that necklace on him, then... What happened to his beard?

Greg's eyes widened as he felt all around his face. Had Amethyst shaved his beard off as some sort of sick joke?

"Dad! You're awake!"

Greg turned around and saw Steven and Peridot running down the stairs. When Steven came and hugged him, Greg squinted. Had Steven and Peridot always been this small?

"It is good to see that you are well, Greg." Peridot said. "I'll go and retrieve the others."

Peridot ran to the temple door, activated her gem, and knocked. As long as she was in contact with the door, the three gems should be able to hear her. "Pearl! Greg has awakened!"

No response. Pearl was probably at the ruins preparing for today's training. Peridot shrugged and instead walked to the warp pad to retrieve Pearl. "Steven, please alert the others for me."

"Sure thing, Perry." Steven said.

Peridot giggled slightly Before teleporting away.

"Steven, how did I get here? What happened yesterday?" Greg said as he tried to piece together what was going on.

When Steven finished explaining everything to his father, Greg ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

Steven had no idea that a man could scream so loud.

Outside of the Temple

"Well, here we go."

Jamie had not been excited for the moment he'd have to go back to the temple. Steven had ordered what Jamie assumed was another one of those food shaped toys, and Jamie, being one of the only two mailmen in town, had to deliver it.

He had begged Barbara to switch routs with him just this once, but she refused, saying she had to pick up some things for Sadie later on. When she mentioned Sadie, that was when Jamie realized that he was going to have to go back to the temple anyway. He still had his training.

Really, it wasn't that he did not like the thought of giving himself and Garnet a shot. He just didn't understand why Garnet had suddenly decided that she loved him.

Jamie looked to his right hip, where he carried his weapons of choice. His punching daggers (or katars.)

Before Jamie or any of the teens had even begun there training, Garnet and Pearl explained to them that depending on how well each students training went, they would be given newer versions of whatever weapons they had. So far, only Jamie, Keke, and Buck had earned these weapons.

They were purple, and the blades were a light blue. When Jamie puts on these punching daggers, his physical strength and speed go up immensely. Plus, the blades are retractable, so when they were retracted, they worked like shields.

But the thing was, Jamie did not feel like he truly earned his weapons like Kiki and Buck. He was the physically weakest of the group. About four months into his training, Garnet had just GIVEN these to him. Should these have been his first clue?

When Jamie approached the stairs to the temple, he took a deep breath.

"Alright Jamie, you can do this." Jamie said to himself as he walked up the stairs and to the front door. He took another deep breath and knocked, hoping and praying that it wasn't Garnet that answered.

With luck in his favor, it was Amethyst that had answered the door. The purple gem smiled evilly when she saw Jamie. "Hey there, lover boy."

"Hello, Amethyst." Jamie sighed. "I have a package for Ste-"

"GARNET!" Amethyst yelled into the kitchen. "It's for you!"

"Wait! No no no I-" Too late. Jamie could see could see Garnet walking over to the door. When Garnet was standing in front of Jamie, the mailman had his eyes glued to her feet, too scared to meet her gaze. But Jamie knew, Knew that Garnet was waiting for him to look up. To meet her eyes.

When Jamie had finally found the courage to look up, he saw Garnet's blank face. No emotion whatsoever. These were times where he wished that Garnet wouldn't wear that visor. It made it hard to know what she was thinking.

"Hello, Jamie." said Garnet.

"H-hello Garnet!" Jamie said as he quickly handed her Steven's package. "Here you go! That's for Steven! Gotta go bye!"

But as soon as Jamie turned around, Garnet grabbed his shirt, holding him in place.

"Will you... Still be coming to training this afternoon?" Garnet asked. Jamie's eyes widened. Was that shyness he saw on Garnet's face?

Jamie remained silent.

Just be calm. Garnet thought. She had to try at least one more time. Maybe she had come on too strong last night. This was her second chance.

Garnet dropped the package and turned Jamie back to her. "Listen Jamie, I apologize for my behavior last light. I shouldn't have put you in that position. Perhaps after training today, we can go somewhere, and see where it leads."

Jamie took one more deep breath. "Garnet, I like you, and I care for you. But... Just not the way you want me to. Not anymore."

Garnet's eyes began to twitch. Well, that was it. Jamie had rejected her. Again.

"I understand, J-Jamie." Garnet stuttered.

Jamie gave a confused look.

Even though it didn't show on her face, Garnet was crushed. In her hundreds of years on this planet, not a single person had ever taken any interest in her. It was always Pearl or Rose. And now she had lost her chances with the only being that had eyes for her because of two gems that made her.

Garnet's fingers began to twitch. Her right hand was smoking, and her left hand was slowly covering in ice.

"E-excuse...Excuse me!" Garnet slammed the door and made pace to the temple door.

Jamie gave an even more confused look. "Uhhh..."

Steven, Peridot, Greg, and the rest of Garnet's team all watched as she went to her room. Steven became worried. What had Jamie said that was enough to make Garnet run to her room like that?

"Uh, I still need a signature for that package." Jamie said from outside the temple.

Steven and Peridot both walked to the door to greet their friend. Greg hid under Steven's bed. He wasn't ready for anyone to see him yet.

"Hi Jamie." said Steven.

"Hello Jamie." said Peridot.

"Hey guys." said Jamie as he handed Steven the clipboard. Peridot was already opening his package completely without his consent. As predicted, it was another food shaped object. A beanbag made to look like a brown cupcake with white frosting and black sprinkles.

Steven rolled his eyes and continued to sign for the package. "So, you don't like Garnet anymore, Jamie?"

"It's not that, Steven." Jamie said. "It's just that I'm not sure why she suddenly has these feeling for me now, when she already rejected me."

Steven wasn't quite sure either. He could only hope that things would get better today.

"Are you still coming to training today?" Steven asked.

"I guess so." Jamie said. "I just hope things don't get anymore awkward between me and Garnet."

When Jamie turned around and walked down the temple stairs, Steven walked back to his room, and continued playing his GameCube.

Greg watched in curiosity as Steven played the game and Peridot sat on the beanbag that he had ordered for them. He personally didn't understand those things. He didn't understand anything anymore.

"So Greg," Peridot said as she continued to play her game. "Has this transformation affected you negatively in anyway? Do you feel well?"

"I feel fine, Peridot." Greg said. "Right now, I'm more worried about this thing."

Greg grabbed the necklace's pendant. He had already tried taking it off, put whenever he tried to yank it off or pull it over his head, it burned his hands.

"Greg!" Pearl called from the living room. "You and Steven should probably go and collect your things from your van. You'll be staying with us until we can find a way to fix you."

Greg's jaw dropped. He would get to live with his son again. The musician was so overjoyed, he grabbed Steven's arm made haste to the door.

"Hold on Dad!" Steven said. "What if someone sees you?"

"Who cares?" Greg yells with a smile on his face. Right now, Greg didn't care who saw him. He was too filled with happiness to worry about that.

"Greg hold up!" Amethyst yelled from the kitchen.

Greg stopped in front of the door. "Yeah Amethyst?"

Amethyst pointed to the sword in the living room. "Pick up that sword."

"What?" Greg yelled. "What makes you think that I can lift that Heep of iron?"

"You were the one that brought it here, Dad." said Steven as he pulled his father to the sword. "Me and Amethyst both tried to pick it up, but it was too heavy."

"It is true, Greg." Peridot said from Steven's room, her eyes still glued to some blueprints that were likely for new weapon of some kind. "Even in your unconscious state, you were still somehow capable of carrying that sword."

"Plus I don't know if you've noticed, but your pretty beefy now." Amethyst said.

Greg opened his mouth to argue, but then he realized that what Amethyst said was true. He could feel it. This new body of his was much stronger than his old one. Though He didn't know if it was strong enough to lift the sword.

He looked at the blade one more time, and shrugged. What harm could it do to try?

Greg walked to the sword's handle, and slowly knelt down. As soon as Greg's fingers made contact with it, he froze. He felt something. Something that felt almost... Familiar. As if he had held his sword before. Greg's eyes began to glow faintly. It felt heavy at first, but as he gripped the blade, it began to feel lighter and lighter to the point where it felt like he was holding nothing at all.

In one movement, Greg lifted the sword high into the air.

Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Peridot all looked in awe. Greg not only lifted the sword, but he lifted it with ease.

When Greg finally lowered the sword, Pearl slowly walked to him.

"Greg." Pearl said. "How would you like to train with us?"

2 hours later

Garnet's room

Garnet screamed as she wrapped her arms around her body. Parts of her room were on fire, and others were covered in ice.

This was another flaw that came with Garnet being a fusion. She was more easily triggered, and much more prone to violence.

Garnet didn't know what to do. The Ruby part of her was telling her to beat Jamie to a pulp for rejecting her again, while the Sapphire part of her was telling her to accept this and just move on.

Garnet looked to her bed. The sight of it only made her more furious. It was going to be for her and Jamie. The fusion fought the urge to smash the bed.

Garnet looked to the temple door. The teens would be here soon for training.  
Garnet summoned up the small bit of self-control she had left, and walked to the temple door.

Meanwhile in the temple

"And she hasn't come outta the bathroom since last night!" Sour Cream said to Buck as the two waited in the living room for the rest of the group. "I'm really starting to get worried."

"Mm hm." Buck muttered as he examined his weapon of choice, his battleaxe. "She's probably just sick or something."

"I hope so." Sour Cream said. They were talking about his mom, Vidalia.

Sometime last night, Sour Cream was in his room, listening to his music, when he suddenly heard his mother screaming. He and his half brother Onion both stepped out of there rooms and walked to the bathroom to try to see what was wrong, but there mother refused to let them in. As far as Sour Cream knew, his mother was still there.

Buck put his arm on his friend's shoulder. "Don't focus on that right now. Garnet and Pearl will be here soon. If you ever wanna get your new toy, your gonna have to train harder."

Sour Cream looked at his weapon, his double bladed staff. Buck was right. He had to focus on his training. He didn't want to be the last of the teens to get his special weapon.

Buck's weapon increased the physical strength of his swing immensely. Plus, the Axe possessed elemental properties. Such as fire and lightning.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Sour Cream said. "I'm sure she's fine."

A few moments later, Kiki, Jenny, and Connie all walked in, ready to train as well.

"So you don't even want one?" Kiki asked Connie. They were talking about the special weapons. Connie had more than proven that she deserved one, but she always refused Pearl's offer.

"I don't think I need one." Connie said. "My sword has always been enough to beat the gem mutants."

Despite there age difference, Connie had always been the superior swordsman between her and Kiki. Not that Kiki was jealous, she was just confused as to why Connie wouldn't want a better sword.

Kiki's weapon, her sword, was special because it emanated vibrations witch weakened its targets molecular bonds. Meaning it could forcibly slice through almost anything.

"Well your loss!" Jenny said spun her scythe around. "I can't wait till I get mine!"

Kiki rolled her eyes. Jenny had come pretty far in her training, but she never really took it seriously. She was like the Amethyst of their group.

"Well today's your chance to prove you deserve one." said Buck.

It was Friday. Which meant that Pearl and Garnet would be sparring with each one of them individually. If Jenny did well, Pearl might finally give her the weapon she felt she deserved.

The temple door opened, and Amethyst and Pearl walked out. Amethyst was eating a bag of chips, lifting them to her face and stuffing her entire hand into her mouth. This was making Pearl shiver in disgust.

"What up, dudes?" Amethyst said with a mouthful of chips.

"Hi Amethyst." Connie said. "Where's Steven?

"Steven is helping his father collect his things from his van." said Pearl. "He's going to be living with us for a while."

"Greg found a giant sword and a magic necklace, and now he's all young and buff looking!" said Amethyst.

"Oh." Connie replied. Neither her or the teens were even remotely surprised by this. They had all seen weirder things happen in Beach City. Hell, they fought gem mutants on a daily basis. "Where's Garnet?"

Amethyst and Pearl both smiled. Sometime after Steven fell asleep last night, Amethyst dragged her into Garnet's room and forced the two to makeup. The last thing Amethyst wanted was for her two friends to be angry with each other again. After about an hour of arguing, Garnet apologized, Pearl apologized, they hugged, and the three said they're goodnights.

"She should be here soon." Pearl said.

"Yo! How are kids doing?"

All of the teens turned to door and see Greg and Steven carrying large boxes of what they assumed were Greg's things. Greg was carrying both his guitar and his sword on his back. His loosely hanging clothes disposed of and replaced with a pair of black shorts and his old rock star T-shirt.

"Hi guys!" Steven said. "Hey Connie, look at my dad!"

Greg was too caught up in his own happiness to notice all the strange looks the teens were giving him. Greg set down the boxes and put his guitar on the table.

"Wow Mr. Universe!" Connie said. "You look even more like Steven now!

"Yeah if Steven was a pro football player." said Jenny.

And finally, Lars, Sadie, and Jamie all walked into the temple. Both Lars and Sadie could easily tell that something was bothering Jamie. He hadn't said said a word the entire walk to the temple, and now that they were here, he was looking around nervously.

"Dude, what's the matter with you?" Lars asked.

"Are you worried about one of your plays or something?" Asked Sadie. "Garnet said that you could have as much time off as you needed if you had to work."

It was true. Garnet and Pearl both understood that unlike the others, Jamie was not a teenager. His daily schedule was almost always packed. Mail route in the morning, directing in the afternoon, then training at the temple afterward. So the gems all gave him as much free time as he needed.

"Uh, hey Steven, who's your friend?" Jamie asked, trying to get the attention off of himself.

Before Steven could answer, the temple door opened, and Garnet walked into the living room.

"Everyone get to the arena. Now." She ordered.

Garnet looked at Jamie, and the mailman was immediately overtaken by fear. He could feel it. Garnet had went from silent sadness, to quiet anger.

And he'd seen what Garnet was capable of.


	2. Chapter 2: The Ring

\-------------------------------------

The day before

Sour Cream's house

\-------------------------------------

"What do I say to them?"

Vidalia sat at her dining room table, her eyes red from crying, a letter in her hands, and the large package that came with it on the table.

She placed her hands on her face. Sour Cream had left earlier today for his training, and Onion was off doing God knows what. She had been thinking about what she would say to them, but she just didn't know. What could she say? What could any parent say in this situation?

How do you look your children in the eye, and tell them that their father is dead?

According to the letter, Yellowtail had been caught in a massive storm. His whole boat swept away, and it's remains found on the shore. They never found Yellowtail's body, just this package, and the letter saying that it was supposed to be a gift for her.

Sour Cream and Yellowtail didn't always see eye to eye, but she knew that he loved him, and saw him as his son. At least, more than that bastard, Marty, ever did. And while you'd likely never get him to admit it, Sour Cream did care about Yellowtail as well.

But now Yellowtail would never get to hear that from Sour Cream. He would never get to hold Onion in his arms again. Or drag them both on fishing trips. And Vidalia would never get to hug him whenever they returned.

Because he was gone. He was gone, and her family was broken.

Vidalia stared at the package again. She didn't want to open it. Knowing Yellowtail, it was likely a fishing rod, or possibly a harpoon. Something that would remind her of him, and send her back to tears. Maybe she could just put it away, or give it to one of the boys.

She sighed. No, she couldn't do that. Whatever it was, it was a gift to her, and the last gift she would ever receive from her husband. So as best as she could, she held back her tears, and started untying the knots around the package. When she lifted the top of it off, she was….surprised, to say the least.

It was a sword. A katana with a black hilt, a serrated, grey blade, and there was a ring tied to it by a string.

Vidalia raised her eyebrow. Yellowtail was planning to give her a sword as a gift? She knew that Yellowtail was aware of Sour Cream's training with the gems, so maybe it was for him? But that didn't explain the ring.

Vidalia pulled off the ring, and examined it. The band was silver, there were strange patterns engraved into it, and the center stone was a red jewel. Where could Yellowtail have gotten a hold of these? They certainly couldn't afford something like this.

That's when Vidalia realized that soon, they wouldn't be able to afford a lot of things. Like food, electricity, or a roof over their heads. Yellowtail was the breadwinner of the house. She'd have to look for a job soon.

She didn't want to think about that right now though. She was distraught enough as it is. Instead, she placed her new gift on her index finger, right next to her wedding ring.

Vidalia got and walked to the kitchen, she had a bottle of vodka that she hidden under the kitchen sink for rainy days. Tea wouldn't do the trick right now. She'd need some ice too. Lots of ice.

Because suddenly, she felt hot.

Really hot.

Were her hands this sweaty a moment ago?

Vidalia grabbed the bottle from under the sink, and grabbed a glass. 

That's when it happened.

A heat erupted from her body, a blast of pain surged through her chest, and she fell to the floor. Her alcohol and glass shattering next to her.

Vidalia looked at her hands. There was faint smoke coming off of them, as if she were about to go up in flames.

Vidalia got up, and hurried to the bathroom. She began coughing, as her throat suddenly felt very dry. Her head burned. Her entire body burned. What was happening right now?

When she finally made it to the bathroom door, she was limping. Her stomach, chest, and eyes all felt like they were on fire. Her vision was starting to get very foggy. She went into the bathroom, turned on the sink, and started splashing water on her face. But it wasn't helping the pain.

Vidalia looked at her new ring. The jewel was glowing.

She was panting heavily. The pain in her body continued to grow. It was like there was someone else underneath her skin. She looked at the ring again. There was a dark, unholy black aura slowly oozing from it, clinging to her skin, climbing up her arm. She tried pulling it off, which only resulted in a burned hand.

Vidalia looked in the mirror. Her pupils were a scarlet red, and their were still fumes coming from them. The aura kept growing, covering her hand, her arm, then the rest of her body, turning her completely black. She could feel it making its way inside of her, changing her from the inside.

Vidalia tried to scream, but the pain was so intense, she couldn't even make a sound. Then everything just went black…

\-------------------------------------------

Present day

The Ruins

\-------------------------------------------

Greg was excited. More excited than he had been in a long time.

His excitement lessened when he found out who his "training partner" would be, but still excited, nonetheless.

Standing before Greg was a Pearl. Or more specifically, a holo Pearl made by the original Pearl.

"Do you wish to test your skills against me in a duel?" It said in a monotone voice.

"Now, Greg." The real Pearl said as she stepped from behind her clone. "Since this is your first day, we're going to take this slow. Take your sword, and just parry with this holo Pearl for now. When you fully understand this, we'll try something more difficult."

Greg drew his sword. Before this, Pearl had shown Greg the proper fighting stance for his weapon. So he assumed it, and waited for Pearl's say-so to begin.

"Ready? Start!" Pearl said.

The holo Pearl swung it's sword moderately slow, and Greg parried with his. Then Greg swung his sword, and the holo Pearl parried as well. Back and forth, they went. Every few minutes, the clone would speed up a little, and Greg would do the same to keep up with it.

Greg smiled as he did this. Maybe it was just his happiness taking over his senses, but wielding this sword felt almost natural. As if it was his destiny to learn how to use it properly. He wouldn't keep Steven and the others waiting for him. He would learn how to use this blade, and he would keep his promise to always protect Steven.

Jamie was with Amethyst, who was still eating her chips, as he tried to stay calm. Usually Amethyst, or sometimes, Jasper, would train with him. It was why he had became one of the physically strongest of the group. He had the best partners.

"Yo, lover boy." Amethyst said with her mouth full. "We gonna spar, or what?"

Everyone was paired up with their partners. Steven with Connie, Sadie with Sour Cream, Keke with Jenny, and Buck with Lars. Amethyst was just waiting for Jamie's say-so.

"Would you Please stop calling me that?" Jamie said. He was thankful enough that Amethyst hadn't told the others what she had witnessed last night, but her teasing was becoming annoying.

And annoyances certainly weren't going to help Jamie's fear for his safety.

Garnet had her back against one of the pillars with her arms crossed. Jamie looked, and immediately looked away. Garnet was still staring at him. She had been staring at him since they entered the ruins. Her teeth were showing, so Jamie could tell she was frowning.

Jamie didn't understand. He had never once seen Garnet act this way. She was always so calm and collected. If she was happy, sad, or angry, you'd never be able to tell. Did his rejection really have this much effect on her?

Amethyst noticed what was getting Jamie's attention, and giggled. "Oh I see, you wanna be training with her, huh?" She said.

"Amethyst, this is serious." Jamie whispered. "I think she's really upset with me."

Amethyst looked at Garnet again. She did look a little...tense. But she just shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, she's probably just mad cause we walked in you guys."

"Umm, maybe I should just come back in a couple days." Jamie said. He slowly got up and made his way to the warp pad, and Amethyst waved him good-bye. He did have plays he should be working on anyway. Yes, he'll just come back in maybe a week or so.

  
And then the mailman felt someone grab his shoulder.  
  
Oh no. Jamie thought.  
  
Garnet turned Jamie to her. "Where are you going?"  
  
Jamie gulped. Garnet's voice was calm, but he could still feel her anger. "Oh Y'know, just... Walking around."  
  
"Walking around?"  
  
"Walking around."  
  
"Leaving already?"  
  
"Leaving already?"  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"No?"  
  
"Good, because that would be bad."  
  
"How bad?"  
  
"It would make me angry."  
  
"That's bad."  
  
"Quite."  
  
Garnet nodded her head to Amethyst. "Go sit over there. It'll be easier for me to keep an eye on you."

Meanwhile, out in the field, everyone else was continuing their training.

Buck and Lars were sparring aggressively. Buck with his battle axe, and Lars with his war-hammer. Well, 'Sparring' might not have been the correct word. The way the two were going at it, it was more like a fight.

Every time their weapons connected, a large Clang rang throughout the arena. These past years had changed the both of them. No longer did Lars view Buck and the others as the cool kids that he would give anything to be friends with. Now, he viewed them as his teammates. His comrades in battle.

And he viewed Buck as his rival.

Their weapons connected in another struggle, their faces close together. Step by step, Lars started pushing Buck back.

"What's wrong, Buck?" Lars said with a confident smirk planted on his face. "You're not getting tired already, are you?"

Buck's blank expression did not change.

Lars had become extremely confident in his abilities, and truthfully, had every reason to be. He's beaten plenty of corrupted gems on his own, has bested almost all of his teammates at least once, and with his enhanced strength, most people couldn't even scratch Lars.

However, Buck wasn't one of those people.

Buck leaned in, and head-butted Lars in his nose. Lars staggered, and Buck delivered a punch to his stomach, then a side-kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground. Before Lars could get up, Buck slammed his battle-axe down inches away from Lars' face. The blade sparkled with electricity.

Lars sighed. Well, looks like he lost again.

Buck withdrew his axe, and offered Lars his hand. Lars accepted, and the two walked over to the water cooler. The teenager never said it out loud, but he always made it clear that he felt that he should've been the leader of their group. For God's sake, he was a space captain for years. But the simple fact was that Buck's level headedness and quick-thinking made him more equipped for the job. And Garnet agreed.

"I've told you before." Buck said as he grabbed a bottled water from the cooler that he had been kind enough to bring for everyone. "Arrogance doesn't win fights. Skill does."

"Guess you'd know, huh? Since you never lose." Lars said before taking a seat. Buck threw him a water bottle, which he instinctively caught.

"You mean I never lose to you." Buck said before taking a seat next to Lars and taking a swig of his water.

Lars sneered a little. He couldn't tell if Buck was insulting him or not. It was always hard to tell what he was thinking or not. Just like Garnet.

Back with Pearl and Peridot, they both watched as Greg continued to counter weapons with the holo Pearl. Almost an hour had went by, and Greg had yet to show any loss in stamina. The holo Pearl at this point, was now going so fast, that this could be considered an actual sword fight.

Pearl just couldn't get her head around this. Even with his new body, it shouldn't be possible for Greg to move so quickly while wielding a sword that size. She and Peridot would have to further examine that necklace when the day was done.

Over on the other end of the ruins, Sadie and Sour Cream were in a struggle for dominance. Both fighter's weapons sacrificed brute strength for speed, which they both viewed as more important.

Sadie jumped back, and swung her spear. Sour Cream ducked, and delivered a kick to Sadie's hand, causing the spear to fly across the arena.

Sadie frowned. Looks like it's time to test the abilities of her weapon.

On both of Sadie's hands, there were white braces with green buttons on them.

Sour Cream jumped, and readied himself. He knew what was coming, and would not let himself be caught off guard.

With a small "ping", Sadie's spear disappeared, and two of them reappeared in both of her hands. This was the ability that Pearl herself installed on the weapon. Sadie could materialize up to two spears in her hands at any time. More, she could determine how heavy, long, and sharp the blades were.

Armed again, Sadie ran towards Sour Cream, jumped, and struck from above. Sour Cream used his staff to block the incoming attack, but Sadie's new blade was so sharp, it sliced his weapon in two.

Doesn't matter. Sour Cream thought. This just meant he had two weapons now as well.

Without skipping a beat, Sour Cream ducked under Sadie's attack, and low sweeped her left leg, causing her to fall, and drop her weapons again.

Sadie groaned and grabbed her head. She still wasn't used to using two spears at once. Pearl always made it look so easy. She was going to need a lot more practice.

Sour Cream walked down to the arena seats. He hoped that Garnet and Pearl were watching. He was ready to prove himself, and get his new weapon. 

Jasper, whom Steven had asked to train them today, was out in the ruins as well. Her helmet was summoned, her eyes were closed, and her arms were behind her back as she waited for Steven and Connie to attack.

Steven and Connie ran at Jasper with their weapons drawn. With her eyes still closed, Jasper grabbed Connie's sword and threw her over her back. With her other arm, Jasper blocked Steven's attempted shield charge, and pushed him away with the same ease as Connie.

Back on her feet, Connie ran at Jasper with her sword again from the behind. Steven summoned his shield again, and threw it at Jasper.

Jasper smiled, and spun out of the way, and the shield that was meant for Jasper instead struck Connie in her head, knocking her down once again.

Steven, now more concerned with Connie than the actual fight, ran over to make sure she was unharmed.

"You alright?" He asks as she sits up, rubbing her forehead.  
  
"You throw your shield too hard."  
  
"HEY!" Jasper gets their attention. "Focus on the threat in front of you!"

Steven turns his attention away from Connie, and summons his shield again. He throws a punch, but Jasper is faster. Catching his fist.  
  
"Not fast enough." Jasper says before throwing him at Connie, who moved just in time.

This time, Connie runs to his aid, dropping her sword in the process.  
  
Jasper sneers. Those two are still much too reliant on each other.

"Come on you two!" She says, irritated. "The enemy won't give you guys grace periods like this."

Steven throws a shield at her again, hitting her helmet, and cracking her visor. Taking the opportunity, Connie reaches for her sword. But Jasper was too fast. Using her spin-dash once more, she zipped passed Connie, and grabbed her sword.

"Now your partner has no weapon." Jasper said. "What will you do?"

Steven frowned. He and Connie were down, but not yet defeated. Using his powers again, he surrounded Connie and himself in a spiked bubble, and ran at Jasper.

Jasper was surprised. Looks like the spawn of her Diamond was full of surprises. But it was time to stop playing around.  
  
She grabbed the bubble, stopping both of them dead in their tracks. Using her left hand, Jasper punched a hole into the bubble, and pulled Connie out.  
  
"Connie!" Steven yelled. He dropped his bubble.  
  
"DEFEND YOURSELF!" Jasper yelled. Steven ignored her, and tried to run to Connie. Jasper, who had now had enough, chopped Steven in the back of the head. Knocking him unconscious.

"Steven!" Connie yelled.

Jasper sighed. She never pictured that she would be teaching her Diamond how to fight like a proper warrior. The quartz soldier picked Steven up, and carried him to the arena seats. Connie walked over to them with anger clearly on her face.

"You didn't need to go that far with him!" She yelled. Jasper was unfazed.

"He is still my Diamond." Jasper said. "And I'll protect him with my life. But I can't be there all the time. And neither can you."  
  
Connie sighed, she knew Jasper cared. She was there when Steven first told Jasper the truth about her Diamond. When Jasper fell to her knees, and begged Steven for forgiveness. Steven wrapped his arms around her neck, and told her that from this point on, they would fight together.

She was rough sometimes (well, a lot), but she understood what Jasper was trying to do. She wanted Steven to be not just strong, but an independent warrior as well. 

Jasper looked at the blue and green spots all over her body, and her straight teeth were now like that of a beast. That was something Steven and his friends couldn't fix. Her mind was uncorrupted, but the damage caused to her body was permanent. She was tainted. Scarred by her corruption, and her need for vengeance.

But Steven still always smiled, and told her that she was perfect. His perfect quartz.

"He's strong, but he won't be able to fight at his full potential as long as he concerns himself with your safety." Jasper said.  
  
She cradled Steven in her arms as if he were a newborn baby. "I won't lose her again."

Back with Garnet, who was still staring at Jamie with anger still clearly on her face. 

In her heart, Garnet knew it wasn't fair to be angry with Jamie. She basically threw herself onto him, and never even gave him a chance to say no. Jamie himself had told her that he wasn't interested anymore.

It wasn't fair for her to be upset with him.

But damn it, she was.

While she couldn't hear their voices anymore, but in situations like these, she could feel their emotions. Sapphire wanted her to calm down, and Ruby wanted her to give into her anger.

And it appeared that Ruby was winning, because feeling the two of them only made her angrier.

"Get out of my head." Garnet said to herself. "This body is mine."

The sun was starting to set, and Pearl was gathering the teens. It was time for the tests.

"Alright, Sour Cream." Pearl said. "Peridot and I have a new staff designed for you. Now it's time for you to show us that you deserve it."  
  
Sour Cream, equipped with his spare staff, readied himself to fight.  
  
"No."  
  
Everyone looked to Garnet. "Jamie and I will be sparring first." She said  
  
Jamie's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"What!?" Sour Cream yelled. "But he already has his new weapon! I haven't even gotten to-"  
  
Sour Cream did not get to finish, as Garnet grabbed him up by his neck. The rest of the teens backed away, too overwhelmed with shock to intervene.  
  
"Jamie...Is going first." Garnet said again.  
  
Sour Cream nodded silently.  
  
Garnet let him go, and Sour Cream ran to the rest of the teens, who were now a good distance away. Now, it was just Garnet and Jamie.

Jamie readies his blades, visibly shaking, with fear in his eyes.  
  
"Garnet." He says. "Let's not be unreasonable. Maybe we can just talk this out?"  
  
Garnet jumps at Jamie and strikes forward with her gauntlets the time for talking was over. Jamie dodges, and Garnet's fist crashes to the ground, shaking the ruins.

Garnet throws punch. Jamie, who wasn't quick enough to dodge, instead blocked the hit with his katars. But Garnet's punch held so much force, that it still sent Jamie flying 10 feet away. 

The mailman tried to gather himself, but before he could get on his feet, Garnet punted him like a football. Sending him into a pillar.

Jamie rolled over on his side in pain. His nose was bleeding, and his head was pounding like a drum. He could taste his own blood.

He looked at his katars. Aside from the enhanced strength and speed, they had one more ability that truly made them unique. An ability Jamie hated using, but has saved him plenty of times.

Maybe, it could save him now. But did he even have the strength?

"I feel like we need to stop this." Sour Cream says to Kiki.

"Pearl!" Kiki yelled to her teacher. "Do something!"

Pearl finally snaps from her fear-induced trance, and summons her spear. She was still not pleased with Garnet's feelings for Jamie, but she could not let this happen.

Garnet grabbed Jamie by his shirt, and prepared to strike him again. 

But this time, when Garnet threw a punch, Jamie caught it.  
  
Garnet looks at Jamie. His eyes were a very light purple, and his gauntlets were glowing. He had activated them.

"Alright, fine then." Jamie said. He pushed her fist away, and yanked himself away from her, ripping a part of his shirt off. Garnet clamps her gauntlets together, and threw down an axe-hammer. Jamie caught her fists again, and spin kicked her in the chest.

Garnet flew back a few feet, but managed to catch herself again.

Jamie stopped shaking, and his terrified face was now a dead serious frown. Over the years they had been training, Jamie's one flaw was that he was always afraid. 

This was the true power of his katars. They make it so Jamie fights without fear or restraint. But Jamie, as an actor first, and a fighter second, hated having his emotions just turned off. It made him feel less human. But to save himself, he would.

"I did not want it to come to this, Garnet." Jamie said as he unsheathed his blades. "But if it is battle you want, then you will have it!"

"God, he is such a drama queen." Jenny whispered to Kiki.  
  
"I mean, he IS an actor" Kiki said.

"Does he not realize what he's getting himself into?" Pearl asks to herself. "Amethyst! Jasper!"

Amethyst finished her chips (and then ate the bag), and started making her way down to Pearl. Jasper, who was still cradling Steven, did nothing. This didn't concern her.

Now not fearing for his own safety, Jamie ran at Garnet with his blades. He swiped with his left blade, but Garnet ducked under his attack. He swiped down, aiming for Garnet's face.   
  
Garnet grabbed his hand before his blade could touch her. But Jamie still had a free hand.

This time, Garnet wasn't prepared. Unsheathing his left blade, Jamie uses all his strength, and punches Garnet in her face with so much force, the entire arena shook again.

Everything went quiet.

Garnet freezes. Jamie's fist still planted on her visor. Slowly, it broke apart, and fell to the ground, revealing her face.

Jamie slowly took his hand back. Garnet's top eye was partially bruised, and closing. In her mind, she could hear Sapphire whimpering in pain.

And she could hear Ruby screaming in rage.  
  
Jamie jumped back, and readied himself for the worst. While he was not afraid, he did realize that making Garnet angrier than she already was was certainly not a good idea.  
  
Garnet slowly walked to Jamie. Her right hand was on fire, and the anger in her two eyes was clear.

"Garnet! Stop!" Pearl jumped to Jamie's side, and summoned her spears. Amethyst ran down and did the same.

"Move. Both of you. Now." Garnet sneered.

"Why now?" Jamie said, stepping in front of Pearl and Amethyst. Pearl tried to stop him, but Jamie pushed her hand now. "What changed, Garnet?"  
  
Garnet said nothing.  
  
The mailman sheathed his weapons. "Why is it that you want to give a chance now? After you said no to me four years ago?"

"What is he talking about?" Lars said to Sadie. Sadie shrugged her shoulders.

"I never said no..." Garnet said.  
  
"Yes you did!" Jamie yelled. "You told me that you didn't want to be together! That you'd never be interested!"

"I'm not the one who refused you!" Garnet yelled.  
  
"Then who was!?"  
  
"WE WERE!"  
  
Garnet immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. Was that... Ruby's voice?

Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"Ruby, please calm down." Another voice that was not Garnet's said. This one was calmer and sweeter.  
  
Jamie, Lars, and the rest of the teens were all confused. Why did Garnet's voice keep changing like that?

Steven walked up to Connie, and rubbed his eyes. Finally awake again.  
  
"Hey guys." He said. "Did I miss anything?" Then he saw Jamie and Garnet. "Uh oh."

"...Everyone leave." Garnet said. "We are done today."  
  
With no will left to oppose, all the teens walked down to the warp pad.

Sour Cream was bummed. Today was supposed to be the day he got his new weapon. But it got a all wrecked because of some weird romantic tension between Garnet and Jamie.

But before he or any of them could step on the warp pad, it lit up, and some stepped off of it.

A girl. A young woman with blonde hair, a black biker jacket, and torn jeans. She was chewing bubblegum, and carrying a sword.

But her most off-putting feature was her blood red arm, and the ring that she was wearing on it.

"Sup." The girl said. "I miss all the fun?"

"....Mom?" Sour Cream said.

"Vidalia?" Amethyst said with almost as much shock.

"Yepperino." She says, walking towards them. Sour Cream runs up to her. "Mom, are you ok?" He asked. "You look... drastically different."

"Oh, I'm way more than ok, sweetie." Vidalia said with a devilish grin. She then took the sword off of her back, showed it to Sour Cream. "All thanks to this beauty."

"Woah. Where'd you get that?... and what happened to your arm?!" He asks, holding her red arm in his hands.  
  
"I'll tell you later, but right now go find your brother. We're having a family meeting later." Vidalia pats him on his shoulder.

"Family meeting? What's wrong?" Vidalia looks down at the ground for a second.  
  
"Something your brother really needs to be here for. So go find him, ok?" Vidalia says walking up to the others.  
  
"Ok, mom." Sour Cream immediately hits the warp pad and leaves the area.

"Hey Amethyst!" Vidalia calls out to her, getting her attention. "What did I miss?"

Amethyst was stunned. Vidalia too? Greg wasn't the only one?  
  
Wait. Amethyst thought. Where was Greg?

While everyone was watching Garnet and Jamie's fight, Greg was still fighting the Holo Pearl. Unlike an hour ago, Greg was now dominating the poor hologram.   
  
To end it, when the Holo Pearl tried to attack, Greg blocked it's spear with his sword, and in one giant swipe, slashed it half.

"Uh.. a lot."

Steven walked to his father, and slightly pulled his shirt. "How to you feel, dad?"  
  
Greg looked at his sword and smiled. "Like I could take on anyone, stewball."

When everyone had left, the only people left in the arena were Garnet, who was sitting at the edge of the arena, Jamie, Steven, and Pearl, who were both explaining Garnet's voice changes to Jamie.

"Wait, so Garnet is actually a fusion?" Jamie said.

"Yeah, Jamie." Steven said. "But she isn't them. She's someone entirely new."  
  
Jamie looked at Garnet, who was still sighting at the arena's edge, looking into nothing. It wasn't that Garnet didn't want to give them a chance. It was that Ruby and Sapphire didn't.

"Okay... this makes sense... I think." Jamie said, scratching his head.

"Maybe..." Steven says. "You guys could try again? It'd make her happy if you gave her a chance."

Jamie looked over at Garnet again. Her and other HAD really done a lot for him. Especially Garnet. She always pushed him to be brave. Stronger. Hell, she was part of the reason he finally went after his acting dreams.

With his mind made up, Jamie walked to Garnet and took a seat next to her.  
  
"Hey." He said.  
  
Garnet did not look at him. "I told you to leave."  
  
"I know." Jamie said. His katars unfortunately only worked in combat, so they weren't going to help him here. "I just wanted to talk."

"Talk then." She said. "You have 60 seconds."  
  
"Uh...I think I need more than that."  
  
"Now you have 56 seconds."

Jamie tensed up a little, but he wasn't going to back from this.   
  
"Do you remember when you told me that love at first sight wasn't real? That it took time, and patience?" Jamie asked. "Because I've never forgotten that."  
  
Garnet finally looked at him. What was he getting at?  
  
"Well this time, I hope you'll actually give me chance to learn about you. Because if you're willing, I'd still like to give this a shot."

Jamie decided to try his luck, and placed his hand on top of Garnet's. "If you're not busy tomorrow, do you maybe want to see Dogcopter 4 with me?"  
  
Garnet smiled lightly. "Yes. I think I would like that."

Steven and Pearl watched from a distance. "Well, I'm glad that's finally sorted." Steven said. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now. Night, Pearl."

Steven warped away, leaving Pearl essentially alone.  
  
"I'm glad everything is sorted too." She said to herself.  
  
She looked over to Jamie and Garnet before stepping onto the warp pad. "I just wish it had been me instead."


End file.
